Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition edited by Julie Schaper & Steven Horwitz Like the previously reviewed USA Noir, this is a collection of grittier crime stories from Akashic Books with a regional focus. In this case, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and the surrounded metro area, plus one up… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition
Tag: criminals
Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938
Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938 Argosy began its life as The Golden Argosy, a children’s weekly, in 1882. By 1889 publisher Fred Munsey had discovered that the readers aged out too fast to keep the magazine viable, so he switched to fiction aimed at adult readers and shortened the title. It’s considered one of the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938
Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012
Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012 edited by Tyree Campbell If you want to stand out in the crowded field of speculative fiction, one of the ways is “genre-blending,” taking two different popular genres and splicing them together. For example, horror and romance to create the vampire love stories so immensely popular in recent times.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012
Book Review: The Emperor’s Soul
Book Review: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson Shai is a Forger, an artist with the mystical ability to change the past of objects; mostly used to create copies of other artworks, but with larger implications that cause fear and loathing in the minds of others. When she is captured while trying to substitute a… Continue reading Book Review: The Emperor’s Soul
Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1
Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1 Comic books were still a very new thing in 1940, and the publishers were still trying to figure out what there was a market for. Science fiction themes seemed popular, so Fiction House created the pulp-inspired Planet Comics to appeal to fans of rockets and aliens.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4 Edited by Robert Kanigher Wonder Woman was not the first female superhero in comics, nor even the first not to be a male character’s sidekick. But she was the first to get her own ongoing solo series, and designed to be an equal to the male… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4
Book Review: Hell-Bent
Book Review: Hell-Bent by Jason Ryan Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. My copy was an advanced reading copy, and changes will be made in the published version, due out November 2014. In particular, the end notes and index were not yet finished. Hawaii’s… Continue reading Book Review: Hell-Bent
Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open
Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open by David Hume Cardby and Son is a detective firm comprised of ex-Chief Inspector Cardby (late of Scotland Yard) and his son Mick. They’ve been engaged by a consortium of banks to discover where a recent flood of “slush”, counterfeit money, is coming from. Nick realizes that… Continue reading Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open
Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012)
Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012) Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the end of the movie. Jack Regan (Ray Winstone) is the field leader of an elite police unit nicknamed “the Sweeney.” They’re a “Flying Squad” (mobile unit not tied to a specific location) of armed police, specializing in battling armed robbery gangs. Unlike most… Continue reading Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012)
Book Review: Tigerman
Book Review: Tigerman by Nick Harkaway Disclaimer: I received an uncorrected proof of this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. Mancreu is dying. This island in the Arabian Sea was once a quiet backwater, last colonized by the British Empire. But a combination of industrial waste and volcanic… Continue reading Book Review: Tigerman